Last week was a tough one for GSD&M what with that whole internal espionage thing and the rumors that they were on the outs with client BMW.
I still think that things with BMW aren’t likely to end well for the folks in Texas.
The first issue is the work, which can only be described as uninspired. Sure, not everything that Fallon did for the brand was as good as the BMW Films or as ads like this:
But the work was good. GSD&M’s hasn’t been.
Beyond the work and the creative espionage situation, there has been turmoil on the account with Lee Newman, the VP/Group Account Director who had been brought in from McKinney to land the business, heading out for Weiden + Kennedy Amsterdam earlier this year. Oh, and that good work that I referenced that came out of Fallon? Yeah…Lee was the driving force behind it from the account side.
And now he’s gone.
But it’s not all bad down at GSD&M…they’ve debuted their first work for Popeyes, an account that they recently landed. So that’s good.
GSD&M has brought the brand back to the Southern roots with a “Louisiana Kitchen” slogan and are talking a lot about their quality (ho-hum) and process (relatively interesting, as far as these things go). Advertising for fast food brands is notoriously uncreative, but considering the limitations of the category and the difficulty working with franchisees who aren’t professionals and who want to use advertising to drive short-term sales, I think that GSD&M has done a good job:
3 responses so far ↓
HighJive // August 29, 2008 at 10:35 pm |
Fast Food advertising is notoriously uncreative? Um, what about BK and Dunkin’ Donuts? McDonald’s only started producing uncreative work in the past 5 years, and they still run an occasional outdoor billboard that nabs major awards. If you ever go out to McDonald’s headquarters in Oak Brook, Illinois, you’ll see shelves of awards that rival the collections of the top ad agencies. Crispin has done some funny work for Domino’s. Pizza Hut used to do great work, albeit many years ago. Ditto Taco Bell. The only fast feeders who consistently do uncreative work are Wendy’s, Subway and Popeye’s. This Popeye’s campaign is total dogshit. The restaurant seems to have a predominately Black audience. They ought to just give the account to a Black agency and be done with it. This commercial you posted is about as lame as it gets.
kmatthews // September 2, 2008 at 10:02 am |
What an angry, angry man that HighJive.
Matt // September 2, 2008 at 1:14 pm |
A good job? What? Is it opposite day?